The time to act is now

Climate change and IPCC report

We can achieve the Paris climate target of 1.5c global warming if governments act now, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its upcoming special report on global warming.

European Parliament shows some ambition on CO2 reductions

CO2 emissions

The majority of MEPs have just voted to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars by 40% by 2030. The European Parliament's position for the upcoming negotiations with the European Commission and Council and lags behind the position of the Environment Committee, which had called for a 45% reduction, and goes beyond the European Commission's proposal of just 30%.

More ambitious reduction targets will lead to EU-wide job creation

Car industry/CO2 emissions

"Even though this is clearly a politically steered report from the Commission, designed to influence votes in the Parliament and Council, it still finds that employment numbers in the entire EU will increase with more ambitious reduction targets," says Bas Eickhout, energy policy spokesperson for the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament.

Car companies must be held to account over possible collusion

Emissions cheating

The European Commission has just announced that it will open a formal investigation into whether BMW, Daimler and VW colluded to breach EU anti-trust rules around the roll-out of clean emissions technology.

Time to do away with recycling toxic waste

Recycling

"Dirty recycling must be stopped and toxic substances should be put on a black list," says Davor Škrlec, member of the Greens/EFA group.

European Parliament to call for a ban on killer robots

Killer Robots

"Autonomous weapons systems must be banned internationally, the power to decide over life and death should never be taken out of human hands and given to machines," says Bodil Valero MEP, security policy spokesperson for the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament.

Quote from Benedek Javor MEP

ECJ ruling on Hinkley Point

On Thursday (12 July) we expect the European Court of Justice to rule on lawsuits against the financing of the construction of the new Hinkley Point nuclear power plant in the UK.

Combating environmental criminality and ecocide

27.06.2018

Environmental crime (including ecocide) is nowadays widely recognized as a significant global threat to peace, security and sustainable development that needs to be tackled with urgency and codified under domestic and international law. Civil society, institutional and political experts will provide insight on the different aspects of environmental criminality, in view of proposing concrete recommendations.

Paris Agreement now enshrined in EU law

Energy Governance

A final text on a European framework law on climate and energy (energy governance) was adopted in trilogue on Tuesday, 19 June. This Regulation is the transposition at European level of the Paris Agreement resulting from COP21.

Europe is taking a step in the right direction

Energy efficiency directive

The Greens/EFA group has welcomed the increase in energy efficiency targets in the EU, but warned that they still fall short of delivering on the Paris climate agreement.

Greens/EFA Debriefing

Plenary week, 11-14 June 2018

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary week included: Multiannual Financial Framework; Brexit; Iran nuclear deal; Netherlands PM Mark Rutte on the Future of Europe; Poland: independence of the judiciary; Renewable Energy Directive; Circular economy at the heart of cohesion policy; Tax justice: transparency of big companies; FIFA: Play Fair – Fight for the forgotten; Climate change photo exhibition.

Modest success on targets but key decisions pushed back to 2023

Renewable Energy

The European Parliament, Commission and Council came to agreement on the revision to the Renewables Directive late last night.